Top 10 Artists Make Over $3 Billion... But Only One Female's On The List

The highest earners in music last year have been revealed, with the top 10 collectively racking up a whopping $2.3 billion US (over $3 billion AUD) despite a lack of touring.

An article by revered music earnings analyst Zack O’Malley Greenburg on Rolling Stone points out that artists have found other ways to earn while touring is off the table, with seven artists in the top 10 “offloading their catalogs for nine-figure sums”.

1. Bruce Springsteen (US$590m)

2. Jay-Z (US$470m)

3. Paul Simon (US$260m)

4. Kanye West (US$250m)

5. Ryan Tedder (US$200m)

6. Red Hot Chili Peppers (US$145m)

7. Lindsey Buckingham (US$100m)

8. Mötley Crüe (US$95m)

9. Blake Shelton (US$83m)

10. Taylor Swift (US$80m)

Of those not involved in a catalogue acquisition deal last year, Jay-Z took in a lot of cash from his champagne brand, Armand de Brignac Champagne, and from streaming service Tidal, while Kanye West continues his sneakers success.

Greenburg points out that Taylor Swift appears to be the only one to have made most of her money directly from music; he also highlighted the fact that Swift was the only female artist to make the top 10.

“You have to expand to the top 15 to find music’s second highest-paid woman or an act born outside the United States," he said.

“This unfortunate reality has roots as old as the music business itself, particularly when it comes to gender disparity. 

“For every Springsteen signed to a record deal, how many female rockers were ignored? For every Dylan given freedom to write his songs — and accumulate intellectual property — how many women got pigeonholed as just singers? For every Simon who maintained or negotiated the return of his rights decades ago, how many female icons were denied that respect? 

“And so it goes for so many underrepresented demographics in the industry.”